DMP at it again

In exciting news you probably already know if you read a blog like mine is DMP is doing another Kickstarter to get Osamu Tezuka's Barbara published in English.  This is great, the whole reason they got this title was because of the previous Kickstarter working so well (Tezuka Pro came to them with it).  This campaign is even doing better.  It reached its goal in two days.  Now, only ten days in it has made more then double its goal!  I can't wait to get my copy!  I'm also excited to see what else is next for them.

For me the fallout of this is even exciting in non-manga related topics.  Order of the Stick, which is probably my favorite web comic, is also doing a Kickstarter republishing campaign.   Yes, I know I can read it all online but there is still something about owning a copy.

I hope small publisher and indies keep up the good work!

DMP Starts a Bring Back Osamu Tezuka's "Swallowing the Earth" Kickstarter

According to their website, manga publisher DMP has started a campaign via Kickstarter in order to be able to reprint Osamu Tezuka's "Swallowing the Earth".

Over two years ago, DMP sold "Swallowing the Earth" as a large omnibus. However, it had a small print run and has been in high demand by fans ever since. DMP wishes to print the book again but cannot afford a new print run. They have turned to the fundraising site Kickstarter to get the book back out to fans.

With Kickstarter, users pledge money to the campaign over a 30 day period. If the goal is met by the end of the 30 days, then the project is funded. By pledging different amounts, users can gain different rewards. Awards include a copy of the book when it's printed or even a package that not only includes the book, but many other manga titles as well.

DMP stated that if the campaign is successful, they will be looking to reprint other titles, or even bring new titles this way in the future.

DMP's Kickstarter page

Source: DMP

*Note* This was my news story on myanimelist.net

My thoughts?

I actually own a copy of the book from the first time DMP printed it. It's an interesting piece. It's certainly not Tezuka's best work, but is a very interesting transitional piece. During the gekiga movement in the 1960's Tezuka wanted to start writing more mature works. The thing is there a few transitional works where you can tell he is trying to write a more mature story but still feel really cartoony. Silly faces, over exaggerated gags, and such. But the story tends to be dark and the characters often have poor morals. It can be really odd. So, it's interesting to see Swallowing the Earth compared to something a few years later like MW (which is one of his most serious and dark titles).

I also like the idea of a Kickstarter campaign to get titles reprinted. I understand companies can't always take the risk of reprinting some titles and this can take the risk out of it. I think this a great way to see some of those now costly titles reprinted (like Flower of Life volume 4).

DMP also even mentions that if this goes well they will look into publishing niche titles this way. I could think of so many great titles I could get this way. I hope it all works out.

Scanlation Get: Mazinger Z

So, this year at Otakon I ran a panel on the man himself Go Nagai. In doing so, I wanted to catch up on some of his anime and manga works. I managed to watch a ton of (pretty terrible) anime adaptations of his work, but didn’t get around to much manga. I started and recently finished Mazinger Z though. This ending up being pretty interesting because while I had known of Mazinger Z the only related series I had seen was Mazinkaiser and Mazinkaiser SKL. So, I went into this title pretty fresh.

Kouji Kabuto and his younger brother are living with their genius scientist Grandfather after their parents died in a lab accident. Over all they are still an upbeat family living a good simple life. One day Kouji on the way to school experiences a major earthquake. He hurries home to see if his elderly Grandfather is alright. What he finds is a giant hole in the garden which has opened up a path to his Grandfather’s secret lab. Here he finds is the giant robot Mazinger Z and his dying Grandfather after some rubble crushed him. Right before he dies Gramps lays some heavy shit on Kouji that Mazinger is his and can be use to “save the earth or destroy it” it’s up to Kouji to decide.

Shortly there afterwards Kouji takes Mazinger Z out, only to find he can’t control it and it goes on a rampage. During this he has a run in with another piloted robot, Aphrodite A, created by Professor Yumi and piloted by his daughter Sayaka. After a short fight Kouji gets things under control and just in time when a third robot shows up and starts attacking the city. Kouji and Sayaka join forces to fight the evil Dr. Hell and his mechanical beasts.

Mazinger Z moves at a breakneck speed. Events tend to just roll right into another. I really enjoyed that aspect even if it just seems that sometimes I just had to accept stuff. Boss has a robot now? Sure why not?

The villains in this were a lot of fun too. Dr. Hell himself comes off kind of generic, but his henchmen are all kinds of crazy. Baron Ashura is (in the most literal sense) half man and half woman. There was back and forth panels as the female and male side exchanged dialogue. It’s a lot of fun, though I could have passed on the bizarro shower scene at one point. Was that supposed to be sexy or funny (either way let me stab myself in the eyes)? Count Brocken is also another winner. A headless man in Germen military gear who often carries around his head (but it can float too!) often flies in on some sort of hover pad and threatens Kouji. The levels of ridiculousness of this can be mind blowing, watch out!

This title was just a lot of fun to read. It was said Go Nagai wrote this to blow off some steam after working on Devilman and you can tell he is writing to have a good time. I really liked that, I could just feel fun coming off of the pages. I also enjoyed a lot of small things like the fact Kouji and Sayaka just like each other and there isn’t any tsundere bull. I also like that Sayaka is a strong brave female character, it was a shame though that she ended up being mostly useless.

My only complaint really is after what is the “ending” to the series there is a number of short one off stories. The ending has been a really intense point. I think leaving off with these short stories really hurt the impact of the ending.

In terms of fan service and gore Mazinger Z comes out like a baby kitten compared to a lot of other Go Nagai works. There are bits where Kouji or Boss get a look at a naked woman but it never really goes past that to the whole other level some of his titles go (I’m looking at you Cutey Honey and that statue licking scene!). There is some violence but for the most part it’s pretty mild and doesn’t focus much on it.

As in my past reviews on Go Nagai the art is well very Go Nagai. I’m starting to not notice how awkward the art is any more. Though man, the pilot outfits sure are freaking goofy looking. Over all, I’d say the art was better than Cutey Honey’s but had less interesting panel layout then Devilman.

This is a summer popcorn flick of manga, it’s a lot of fun and full of action but, nothing to deep going on. I do recommend it though if you like Go Nagai’s other works, or if you are just looking for something fun to read.

Scanlation Get: Pansy

I know it’s been a while, I have been busy (mostly playing Fallout: New Vegas…) but I’m going to try and get back on the wagon again. This time I bring you a title I just finished recently called Pansy by Mariko Okumura. It’s a historical fiction (though starts to drift a little into light fantasy by the end) shoujo title from the late 80s. Pansy is a feral girl, recently found in Africa, living in the wild being raised by chimpanzees. Mark Animal the young man, who found her, takes her back to his European-esque home country of Roland to study her. Pansy meets a slightly older boy than herself named Edo (who in one of the more obvious turns in the story is the prince of the country) who loves her free spirit. Upon hearing the Traumerei played memories of her past start to awaken. Quickly though events start to roll changing Pansy’s life even further. The story of Pansy quickly turns into one of high adventure and political intrigue.

At first it’s just something small as Mark’s fiancé being jealous of Pansy and having a local reporter take photos of the girl acting like a monkey. Soon she is embroiled in the affairs of the royal family as the throne is being usurped by Edo’s jealous cousin Wirald. Something is always happening to Pansy and new people are always coming in and sometimes old characters come back for a surprise. It is what really made this manga really enjoyable though was I never really knew what was going to happen next. So much crazy crap happens, but because Pansy just rolls with it all it just seems to work. She gets lost, becomes a maid, and might be from a noble family. Then when everything looks like it might work out just fine, BAM! everything she has is destroyed. Pansy ends up doing a little bit of everything and ends up in trouble a whole lot but she remains a strong lead through it all.

The writing is kind of odd, while there are story arcs and they have a somewhat normal structure the overall story isn’t so structured and it kind of rambles on into the series next event. Also while most of the story would be considered historical fiction towards the end the story introduces a country where the nobles worship Satan (at this point I gave a hardy WTF?). This apparently grants them some magic powers like staying young and seeing through a crystal ball like a security camera. It’s kind of odd but at that point so many other barmy things had happened I just kind of rolled with it. I also have to note that the scanalations of this series are from different language from the original Japanese. So, it is a translation of a translation and early on it really shows. In the first few chapters the wrong forum of various pronouns are used. Thankfully over the course of the scans the translation gets better.

The art is well done but pretty typical of 80s shoujo so looks a bit dated today. Thankfully, it’s a period piece so it isn’t as dated as some other titles of the time. The art is well drawn and a lot of the formal clothes have very nice details to them. These are drawing you can see that some care went into creating them. I’d also say the screen tone used in this title is very well done, not too much and done with care.

I got to say I enjoyed this title way more than I thought I would. I finished off all eleven volumes in just a couple of days. It was almost like playing Civilization expect instead of one more turn it was one more page just to see what crazy thing would happen next.

Thoughts: Rumikio Takahashi great mangaka or greatest mangaka?!

Rumikio Takahashi great mangaka or greatest mangaka?!  LOL, no... I really don’t get people who think she is the greatest female mangaka of all time.  I don’t hate her works like I do CLAMP because I do think her work has merit.  In fact a lot of important merit, just not greatest of all time merit.

I can seriously argue she is not the greatest female mangaka of all time.  I mean really?!  Historically important?! Sure.  Important to otaku culture?  Hell yeah. But the best?  Hell no.  

Moto Hagio, Riyoko Ikeda, and many other members of the Year 24 Group?  Yes, I feel that many of their works have a depth from other literary sources that more otaku influenced works do not have.  Since their influences come from more outside sources where otaku works tend to come from inside the culture.  

Not that these works are not interesting and can be intelligent in their own right but they start to really cause a catastrophic feeling.  These otaku works are created by otaku for otaku and make otaku feel safe.  This is their world and outsiders can't touch it.  But much like with the gene pool you need outside influences or things start to get distorted.  

When I read works like Glass Mask and Rose of Versailles there is a feel that these works are written for everyone and they are influenced by many works not just other manga.  Works by Takahashi just don’t give me that feeling, they give me the feeling they are for Otaku.  For every enjoyable and decent title like Otaku no Musume-san there are a ton of other samey generic title filled with Otaku tropes, so Otaku can in some can indulge in a dream life without having to really work on making their own life better.

Okay, I’ve kind of gone off the subject...Rumikio Takahashi’s early work is important and did help create otaku culture as we know it but lacks a quality it make it stand on its own anymore outside the culture.

Scanlation Get: Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (YKK) by Hitoshi Ashinano is a title that embodies the line “It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.” The story takes place after some great disaster, the seas and risen, and much of the world is in decline. People just going on living like always, living a rather laid back pace of life. The main character is a robot named Alpha and she runs her owner’s seaside café. Where her owner is, no one knows.

The story mainly revolves around Alpha and her adventures but sometimes it drifts off into stories about the side characters. It is hard to describe the plot of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou because it is one of those slice of life titles that have no real strong ongoing story. It’s just the life of Alpha taking care of the café, visiting friends, and the stories of the supporting cast. A nice laid back life that seems really pleasant. As I read YKK I kept imagining what it would be like to go to Alpha’s café and enjoy a cup of tea.

If this sounds boring to you, then this title will be to you. Action is almost none existent, YKK makes Azumanga Daioh look like Crank: High Voltage. For me what really made this title overcome the slow pace is the really great atmosphere that drives it and the likable and nuanced characters. Every character was very distinct emotionally but outrageously or in your face.

I enjoyed the art in the series it, but I wasn’t in loved with it. It has a really warm quality, the backgrounds are very well drawn, and it works well in context with the story. It is just that I wouldn’t run out and get an art book for it and I LOVE art books. I think the layouts are great, though. The panels are fairly simple but the contents inside each panel is composed incredible well. Many of the panels would make a nice framed piece of art on their own.

I enjoyed this title a lot it has a very dreamy quality that is hard to quantify. If you enjoy then slice of life genre this is a must read. If you think slice of life is boring as fuck, run as far away and as fast as you can get from this.

Thoughts: Otakon 2010

Going to cons always messes up my schedule (and my eating habits) for sometime before and after the con. I'll get back to the real content soon, I kind of promise. So, I was at Otakon, this past weekend. I can't say it was too exciting, only once in the time I have been going (10+ years) that there has been a guest I wanted to see (Kouta Hirano), so I mainly go just to hang out. The problem being is most of my friends moved to the west coast this year so there was only 3 of us in our group. We had a really good time though. I got to hang out with some of my other “peeps” I know on-line which was awesome.

I love going to cons for the shopping. I think one can kind of take it for granted today just how easy it is to get anime/manga materials today. Not just in the arr I'm a pirate way either, but getting actual goods is so much easier today. It used to be if you wanted the really awesome stuff, you had to go to a con to get it. Now you can order so much stuff on-line the dealers room isn't as big of a deal. I have to say though there is nothing like instant gratification. I like going through stacks of art books finding one so awesome I didn't even know I had to have, but I have to now! Sadly, this year I was pretty cash strapped at the con, so I didn't get much, but I did get some good stuff.

Before the con I talked to on of my on-line friends who hit up a used book store in her area. She picked up these for me there (at three bucks a piece!):

Honey and Clover 4,5
The Embalmer 2
Lament of Lamb 3
20th Century Boys 4

A little out of order but the deals were to good to pass up really and they are all in great shape. It was also awesome to meet one of my on-line friends. She bought 56 volumes of manga at the con! I dream I can do that some day! I think my best was in the 20-30 range.

At the con I picked up:

Twin Spica 1
Black Jack 11, 12
Age Called Blue

Though when I got home I realized I didn't have Black Jack 10. It is not a huge deal, as Black Jack has no real reading order. It's just the were on sale for ten bucks each! That is a six or seven dollar savings! Because I bought thirty bucks worth of stuff from Vertical, they give me a really pimp bag.

The only other think I got was the Higurashi visual novel from MangaGamer (and a free boob mouse pad lol).

Probably my smallest haul from a con ever but some good quality stuff.

I sat in on the Vertical panel. They have some more surprised Tezuka stuff coming and are looking to get more stuff from the '49s out there (which would be so awesome).

During Q&A someone asked about Go Nagai, in which Ed Chavez confirmed that they would like to release some of his titles but Dynamic Pro wants them to start with Maou Dante and they feel that is to much of a risk to sink capitol into, but maybe someday. I still need to review that one (but it means I have to read it again, lol) but I can understand where Ed is coming from on that one.
I will work on a real post of next time!